A common injury to people who play such sports as baseball or tennis, or to manual laborers such as construction workers is lateral epicondylitis, also known as, “tennis elbow.” Tennis elbow is generally caused by overuse of the extensor tendons located proximate the elbow resulting in tears in the tendons at or near the lateral epicondyle. This is why such injury occurs from activities that require repeated flexure and movement of the elbow, e.g. when throwing a ball, swinging a racket or hammer, or twisting a screwdriver. Another common, related injury, is medial epicondylitis, also known as “Golfer's Elbow.” Golfer's elbow is generally caused by overuse of the flexor tendons located just distal to the elbow and results in tears to the tendons near the medial epicondyle.
The best way to relieve the pain associated with and cure tennis elbow or golfer's elbow is to stop performing the activities that irritate the arm and allow the arm to heal. While this may be feasible for the weekend warrior athlete, this is not so easy for the manual laborer or professional athlete.
It has been found that pressure applied to the tendons prevents further irritation. The pressure is applied to healthy tissue of the tendon in a location as close to the injured tissue as possible without actually being applied to the injury. In effect, the pressure creates a secondary attachment point between the injury and the wrist flexor or wrist extensor that prevents the muscle from pulling on the injured area of the tendon. This generally relieves and/or eliminates the pain associated with tennis or golfer's elbow as well as facilitates recovery and healing of the irritated area.
Numerous devices have been designed to attempt to provide pressure or support to the injured area to reduce further injury or pain associated with tennis or golfer's elbow while facilitating continued use of the elbow. Some devices compress the muscle in an attempt to reduce the pull on the epicondyle. While such devices may be effective to relieve much of the pain associated with tennis elbow, they often restrict the contraction of the muscle, thereby limiting the usefulness of the muscle. Other devices are positioned closer to the epicondyle with the intention of placing pressure more on the tendons. These devices often irritate and chafe the user because the strap of the device often is positioned within the crease of the elbow in order to apply the pressure near the site of the pain. This irritation also affects or restricts the range of motion of the arm. Furthermore, many devices, although they are adjustable, either come in an adult size or a child size but are not sufficiently adjustable that only a single device can be sold that accommodates both an adult or a child.
There exists, therefore, a need in the art for an improved device for counteracting the effects of tennis and golfer's elbow.